Failed Love
by WiseGirl1609
Summary: Jack and Katherine tonight have had a little fall out. See how they deal with the loss of their significant other. For Newsies Pape Selling Competition.
1. Chapter 1

Colors chosen: Red (anger), violet (romantic)

Word count: 6128

Disclaimer: not mine. It's just not mine.

Chapter 1

Katherine stormed into Miss Medda's theatre. She found Jack almost immediately, painting another backdrop of, guess where, Santa Fe. Just as she suspected.

"What on earth do you think you are doing right now?" Katherine fought to keep her voice under control. Jack turned around, startled. He saw Katherine and grinned. He dropped his brush and wiped his hands on his colorful apron. After the Newsies convinced him to stay in New York (with a bribery kiss from Katherine), he had been happy living in the famous New York City. Until lately. He started thinking about what he could have been doing if he had left. On Sundays, he imagined himself taking the day off of work. On nights where he worked especially late, he imagined himself sitting around a fire with marshmallows on a stick, laughing and telling stories.

Jack always had to shake himself out of those wistful daydreams, and never told anyone about them. He was confident he could overcome them before anyone would notice how… out of it… he was lately. Well, he underestimated his genius girlfriend. Katherine noticed him staring off into space more and seeming more depressed within the first week of his new development and had his 'problem' figured out within the next week.

"How are you doing, lovely?" Jack asked his favorite person in the world. He advanced towards her so he could give her a heartfelt kiss. He leaned in, but she pushed him away with her hands on his chest.

"Not good!" Katherine was practically simmering with exasperation. Jack's forehead wrinkled with worry.

"Why not?" Katherine's fury melted away a little bit when she looked at her boyfriend's innocent face. It immediately built back up again, though, when she remembered what he'd done.

"Jack. Think really hard about what you might have done this morning to make me disagreeable." Ever since Jack started pursuing art as more of a career, he began to think in colors. Katherine had an aura that was red. Bright, fresh paint on a stop sign, red. He started thinking. After a few minutes of consideration, his eyes widened in horror. He knew what he had done.

"Oh, no. Katherine, I am so sorry!" Katherine passed her tongue over teeth and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

" 'Fess up, Michelangelo." Jack almost whimpered. The sin he had committed was too big to be forgiven by his already stubborn girlfriend.

"I… I left my paints open so they stunk up the apartment," he said miserably. Jack and Katherine had moved into an apartment together a few months ago. Jack and Katherine were both making way more money than previously in their lives, and were able to afford living quarters. Katherine's nostrils flared.

"That, too. What else?" Jack shook his head at himself. What could he have done worse than that horrible mistake? How could he be such a dolt? When he realized his second mistake, he nearly broke down in tears. He was a terrible, terrible person.

"Katherine…. I left my clothes on the floor." Katherine was a huge neat freak. If anything was out of place, she actually had a panic attack until it was back in place.

"Exactly. And you knew that it was laundry day!" Jack looked down and shuffled his feet in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I really am sorry. I'm a stupid idiot who has memory problems and has no respect for the most beautiful girl in the universe." He looked up with sorrowful eyes that made Katherine give in immediately. She sighed heavily and leaned in for a soft apology kiss.

"You just know how that bugs me." Jack leaned in and captured her lips in his again. She pulled away and smirked. Her eyebrows raised.

"Do you know what you got yourself into?" Jack, brain still short-circuited from their kisses, shook his head while blinking madly.

"You get to unstick the apartment by tonight otherwise I'm moving out. You also get to do the laundry. Have fun! Goodbye, now!" Katherine pushed him away and Jack stumbled. Her comment finally seemed to catch up with him and he frowned. But Katherine was long gone.

Jack wearily sighed and walked down to his apartment. He was so caught up in his thoughts of "stupid, stupid, stupid! Jack, what the heck, you idiot!" that he didn't notice when he walked into the wrong apartment. He apologized vehemently to the old lady who occupied that same apartment. She stood up creakily and shook her sewing needles at him, while screaming something about how he made her 'drop a stitch' or something. Jack held his hands up in surrender and ran out, newly aware. It wasn't his fault the door was unlocked! His respect for the elderly definitely grew after that experience.

He successfully located the correct apartment on try two and found that the door was, in fact, locked. The one time he remembered to lock the door in the morning. He was definitely not having a good day. In a heart stopping moment, he thought he had lost his apartment keys and was about to kick his door down, when he realized he had been holding them for the past five or so minutes. He opened the door, but slammed it shut again almost immediately. The fumes. Oh, the fumes. Jack was woozy from a split second of smelling the aroma of his paints.

Either Katherine purposefully didn't tell him about how bad it was, or the smell had gotten worse in the past hour. It was most likely the second option because there was no way Katherine could be that steady after walking through that room. Jack plugged his nose and walked back into the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Katherine entered the apartment around sunset, the apartment was spotless and fresh-smelling. She smiled. Jack was sweet to clean the whole apartment when he only had to do the laundry and air out their place. She walked around the apartment and looked for Jack while admiring the wonderful job he had completed during the day. She finally found her lover in the room which he called an 'art studio' when in all reality it was just a table with paper, pens, and paints with finished work on the walls and sun shining through the window onto his hunched back.

She walked behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed the top of his head and she felt him smile. They remained that way in silence for a few minutes, cuddled up. Katherine watched his hands make the smooth strokes necessary to create a piece of art of his quality. Jack finally set his brush down and gently unwrapped Katherine's arms from around him. He stood up and nuzzled his face in her soft hair. She smiled into his shirt.

"This is a nice way to come home," she mumbled into his shirt.

"You like it?"

"I love it!" Katherine looked up at Jack with pride shining in her eyes. He was a modest person, so he flushed a little. Katherine kissed both spots of pink on his cheeks, but when she went for his nose, he tilted his head so she kissed his mouth. They both smirked and locked lips again. Eventually, Jack pulled away.

"It's our one year dating anniversary, Katherine! I got us a present!" Katherine stared at him with surprise. She hadn't expected him to remember. He turned around and rummaged in the drawer of his art table. He pulled out two tickets and handed them to Katherine excitedly. She looked at them curiously and her excitement deflated. Jack had somehow fulfilled his wishes by tagging it underneath a gift for both of them.

He had gotten them train tickets to Santa Fe.

Katherine took a deep breath and looked up at him with fire in her eyes, reenergized. Jack, the clueless boy he was, stared back at her with complete and utter confusion.

"I… will not… go to Santa Fe," she spoke as if the location put acid in her mouth, "because you will end up begging and begging to stay there. Forever." Judging by the guilty look in Jack's eyes, he knew that that was going to happen.

"You were planning on making me feel guilty by turning you down once we got there. What kind of boyfriend are you, manipulating your girlfriend to get what you want?" Katherine sounded truly horrified at that idea.

"No, Katherine, I just wanted to show you how beautiful it is-"

"Oh, so, suddenly you know what Santa Fe looks like when in all reality you have never been there?" The force in those words actually pushed Jack backwards a step.

"Katherine, I-"

"You what? What are you apologizing for? Do you even know? Or are you just trying to make yourself feel better for what you know you wanted?"

"No! I am apologizing for being a stupid boyfriend who puts hatred in you. You were perfectly fine before we started dating and now you are finding reasons to dislike me. I don't know what is bugging you, but if this is too hard for you, maybe we should break up."

"Maybe we should!" Katherine yelled.

"Fine."

"Fine!" Katherine marched past Jack out of the studio and walked around the apartment gathering all her stuff and lugging it out the door. Jack watched in despair as he realized what he had made happen. As the door slammed shut behind her, he held out a hand.

"Wait!" His voice started trailing away slowly. "I love you." It was too late. He had waited too long. The love of his life was gone, possibly forever. He opened the door in desperation, but she was nowhere to be seen. He shut the door with a sense of finality and crumpled to the ground. The pain overtook all of his senses and he lost all control. Tears fell, sobs were sounded, and, yes, a heart cracking was audible. He could hardly breathe because the hurt was torture. Jack wondered if he would ever be able to recover from this.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Meanwhile, Katherine ran from the pain. She held all the tears in and attempted to swallow the lump growing in her throat. As the tears started overflowing, she ran faster. Eventually she stopped in the middle of a sidewalk and dropped to the ground, her head in her hands. A gasp escaped her lips and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Her head dipped forward and her hair covered her face. She began to weep. She wept for all she lost, and the pain she had just caused to… a person. She couldn't even think his name. She kept crying and, as if this was a motion picture, rain started falling. It was heavy and unyielding. She sat there soaked, hardly noticing the coldness seeping through her dress.

Suddenly, the rain seemed to stop and warmth began to return to her. She peeked through her fingers at the ground. Rain was still plinking on the ground in front of her. She took a shuddering breath and looked up. She saw an umbrella and a worried face with soft hands holding a blanket on her back.

"Are you okay? We need to get you inside so you don't get hypothermia. Can you get up?"

"Spot," she sobbed desperately. He folded the umbrella and placed it underneath his arm, quickly soaking himself. Spot pulled her up and put an arm around her shoulders. She turned her face into the somewhat dry blanket around her. Spot escorted her down a few blocks as she continued to sniffle. He brought her into another apartment building, and nodded at the doorman. He unlocked a door and set her on the couch. He disappeared for a few minutes as Katherine tried to calm herself down. She curled up into a ball with her head on the armrest. At some point,

she felt the couch cave next to her feet.

"Hey. I made you some tea." She sat up and gratefully took the tea from Spot. Spot had made himself a fortune. He had quit the Newsies and started working for a different company- a manufacturing one. He kept going by Spot, though.

"Sorry. Jack and I… we- we broke up." She fought the wetness rising in her throat. Spot made a sympathetic noise and rubbed a comforting hand on her back. Apparently, he knew what it was like to be turned away from. Katherine never would have guessed that it was herself who had unknowingly rejected Spot five or so years before.

Spot was ready to seize this chance. Katherine was open for the taking and in a vulnerable place, looking for any comfort. If he could provide it for her, maybe she would see him differently. If that didn't work, well, then, it would be time for a direct approach.

"You can stay here. I have an extra bedroom," he offered. Katherine's eyes welled up again.

"Oh, you would really let me stay here?"

"Of course, Katherine. You're a friend." He emphasized the word 'friend' a little bit, putting a subtle hint into their conversation. She smiled a little bit.

"Thanks, Spot."

"Anytime." She got up and dumped her wet stuff outside. She hung them up on the clothesline quickly. She found a dry outfit in the middle of the box and changed. She hung up the dress she was wearing previously and stumbled to her new bedroom, half asleep.

The next morning when she woke up, Spot was gone. She found food in the refrigerator and ate a small breakfast. Her clothes were still damp, so she just smoothed out the outfit she had fallen asleep in and brushed her hair. She showed up for work ten minutes late.

"Sorry. Rough night." The other workers understood. Her being one of the youngest workers made it so basically everyone else had already gone through what she was going through.

After her shift was over, she wandered the streets of New York City. She saw Jack once. He was talking to a drop-dead gorgeous girl and seemed to be pretty darn happy. His smile had a twinge of sadness, though. She gasped when he took the new girl's hand and pulled her halfway down an alley that Katherine had a pretty good view of. They seemed to be saying something to each other, but then Jack leaned forward and pressed his lips against this other girl's lips. The girl pulled away almost immediately and Katherine started breathing again. But the girl just smirked and dragged him out the other side of the alley. Katherine's mind stopped working. She fled back to Spot's apartment and collapsed on her bed. She wanted to cry, she really did, but no tears came out.

Spot came in a half hour later to see Katherine on her bed with her face in her pillow.

"Did something else happen?" He asked.

"I watched Jack kiss another girl." Katherine's voice was muffled. Spot was horrified, yet overjoyed. This was his opening. He wished it could be under different circumstances, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. He gently pulled her up. He decided not to force it on her.

"Is there anything that could make you feel better?" He inquired instead. Katherine studied the kindness his face. She also something else in it. Was it hope? No, she decided that wasn't it. Spot was so kind to take her in. She felt a need to be held. She looked up at Spot pleadingly.

"Can you hold me for a minute?" He obligingly pulled Katherine onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He was so warm, so comforting, so familiar, that she realized that what she felt for Spot was possibly more than she originally thought it was. Only one way to find out. She leaned back and looked into his eyes.

"Now would be a good time to kiss me," she whispered. Yes, it had been hope in his face. She now knew that he wanted this possibly more than her. He closed his eyes and leaned forward. Katherine kept hers open and watched him slowly lean forward. Just millimeters before his lips touched hers, she felt his breath on her mouth and panicked. She turned her face to the side so he gently kissed her cheek instead. He opened his eyes in surprise and pulled away.

"What…." Seeing her expression of loyalty, he understood. She still felt like it would be betraying Jack if she kissed him. But the kiss had solved one problem. Katherine knew that she did want this relationship. She wanted it with all of her heart, except for the small- tiny- piece still hung up on Jack. She lurched forward and pressed her lips to Spot's cheek. Spot started to smile. It grew larger and matched the one on Katherine's face. So, maybe they wouldn't kiss. That wasn't a necessity in a relationship. They mutually agreed that, "We're doing this."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

About two minutes after Katherine left, Jack ran to the door and tore it open. He started sprinting down the street. He didn't care what it would take. He was going to apologize and beg for her mercy. What had he been thinking, suggesting that they break up? He sprinted down the street and looked left, then right. She still had disappeared. He cursed. Jack chose to go the right and ran down the street. He continued down that street for a good five minutes before deciding that that was the wrong direction. He ran back to his apartment building and started to the left. Finally, his conscience came through and told him that she would be long gone by now. He forced himself to walk back inside.

Jack bumped into quite a few things on the walk of shame to his room. He collapsed on his bed and wasn't ashamed to admit that he cried himself to sleep. He woke up with salt on his pillow. Had he really cried for most of the night? Pathetic. He hardened his resolve. He was going to make Katherine jealous and woo another girl. He got dressed, purposefully avoiding spots that reminded him of Katherine.

He walked with a purpose out of his apartment and flirted with every girl he passed. They all giggled and turned away. Some occasionally batted their eyelashes at him. He thought all of this was disgusting. Who would do this, lead on random girls they met on the street. It was not who Jack was. But it had to become who he was.

He presently was on the street. On the corner of the boulevard he was on, he saw the perfect girl. She had long black hair that fell neatly in curls almost to her waist. She was slim and dressed fashionably. He turned around to talk to someone behind her and he saw that she had a beautiful face, with unusually dark blue eyes that showed that she knew she was gorgeous but played it down because she was modest. Her eyes flicked to him and he quickly averted his eyes to make it seem like he wasn't staring. She knew better, though. The girl spoke to the man in front of her, then slid past him and sashayed to Jack.

"I saw you watching me," she gave a flirtatious smile and twirled a dark strand of hair around her finger. Under normal circumstances, he would have walked right past her, but this was not a normal circumstances. He gave his own smile back and held out his hand.

"You're too beautiful not to stare at. I'm Jack." She gripped his hand tightly and held on for a few seconds longer than necessary. Jack craved the contact and reached for her hand again when she let go. She smiled and gave it to him.

"I'm Lila." The name fit her. Delicate, yet sturdy and sustainable. One eyebrow arched as Jack inched closer to her side. He stopped moving and both eyebrows went up. Crap, he thought, Now what do I do? He kept going closer and a small smile crept up her lips. He only stopped when their sides were pressed together.

Lila had many thoughts going through her head. This handsome boy walked up to her a minute ago and made her feel dizzy. He seemed to be worth her time and she went up to him. He wanted contact, she could tell. When you date a new boy every week, you know these things. No one seemed to be good enough for her. This boy made her feel different, so she decided to repay him. She smirked.

"Let's go over there," she said slyly. Jack looked at where she was indicating and looked confused.

"It's just an alley… oh." His face cleared. With a blank face, he led her to the alley. He thought he saw Katherine on the streets and nearly stopped. Then he realized if she saw this, it would be payback for her leaving him. With a renewed sense of energy, he dragged Lila to the alley. He stopped around halfway down it. They moved in close to each other.

"I know we just met, but can I kiss you?" Jack whispered. He wasn't sure why he whispered, it just felt right.

"Of course." Jack smiled and did the most cliché thing he could- he tucked a piece of hair behind Lila's ear and leaned in slowly. Lila came in closer, too. They hovered for a few seconds, drinking in each other's breath. Then they both moved forward at the same time and their lips connected. Jack's arms went around Lila's waist. Her arms went around his neck and into his hair. After a few moments, they disconnected and smiled at each other. They kissed again, this time for longer.

Lila was certain this Jack was going to be the one. He made her feel bubbly. She wanted to go show off her wealth to him to make like her even more. She smiled and dragged him out of the alley.

Later, when Jack finally returned to his apartment after a day with Lila, he reflected on his activities. After Lila showing off her house and an afternoon of walking around, and kissing in, the park, they headed back to her home for a dinner with her parents. It was possibly the most awkward experience in his life, and believe it or not, her parents were scarier than Katherine's.

Jack couldn't help it, but he compared Lila to Katherine the whole day. Lila's kisses weren't as pure, more needy. Lila's hand was cold and not warm like Katherine's. Her house was over furnished. Every misplaced object, he thought of Katherine and how she would not have let that be put there. Every touch didn't bring shivers to him like Katherine's did. What was wrong with him? Lila was obviously the match for him. Their personalities didn't clash at all. She was a hopeless romantic- as the night went on, Jack wanted less contact, but she wanted more. She literally made it the most cliché evening he had ever had. Jack knew he started that with the hair tuck, but he didn't think it had to go so far as stargazing that apparently was supposed to end up with the couple gazing into each other's eyes and kissing passionately.

Well, passionately on Lila's part. Jack's kissing was more on the lines of 'help me, somebody, anybody! Get me out of this!' But Lila was beautiful and Jack was sure he had fallen for her. Excluding the awkwardness and too much contact factors, the night was overall an enchanting one.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Katherine hated herself. She kept finding faults with Spot! He bit his nails too much, his apartment room was usually a mess, he kept trying to force his ideas onto her, and he hardly ever smiled, just to name a few. He was more of a quiet, brooding, genius man who had no reason for a clean house, where Jack was a playful, kind-of loud, average in academics guy. And now she was comparing poor, unsuspecting Spot with her ex! Katherine wished she could erase all memories of Jack.

Spot was gone at work all day, leaving Katherine to do her thing. She would go to work for a few hours and then come home and either sit and think for the rest of the day or clean. Around four o'clock, she made dinner so Spot could eat something when he got home. He would come home, they would talk, and he would always try to kiss her. She held back every time, though. Spot seemed to expect it and didn't seem too miffed at her.

One evening, things changed. Spot overstepped himself in their relationship balance and everything… well, let's just see what happened.

"Hello, dearest," Spot told Katherine when he came in from work. Katherine smiled at him as he sat down at the table. She had missed him a lot today, for some reason, but seeing him didn't make her as happy as she thought it would. Instead, fire flared up inside her.

"Don't call me dearest," she told him through her smile. She pushed the lava back down inside her.

"Okay. Sorry. So, what's for dinner tonight, honey?" She flinched.

"Can we just drop the whole pet names thing? And, spaghetti."

"You haven't complained before! I'm sorry for making you annoyed." One of the good thugs about Spot was that he always apologized, even when things weren't his fault.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just not having a good day today, I guess." The magma inside her bubbled and threatened to come up. She made a face and clenched her stomach, keeping it down. She didn't know what was going on with her.

"Uh, Katherine, are you okay?" Spot asked. He had seen her face and wondered if she was about to spontaneously combust or something like that.

"Yes, I'm fine." They ate dinner and Katherine went to get ready for an early bedtime. As she walked into her bedroom to welcome the wonders of sleep, she was ambushed with a hug from behind. She tensed. Spot, not noticing her discomfort, spun her around and, without hesitation, smacked his lips against hers. Katherine pulled away immediately. That was it. The volcano erupted.

"What do you think you are doing?" Katherine screamed. Spot unwrapped his arms from around her and backed away.

"You're just so beautiful and kind that I needed to kiss you." Katherine heard the honesty in his voice and realized that he had no choice. It was the manly hormones. She slapped his cheek.

"How dare you? You- you insufferable beast! If I wanted to be kissed, I would have kissed you. If I wanted to be in a touchy-feely relationship, I would tell you. If I want to break up with you, I will tell tell you. And I am! Right now! Because this," she motioned to the space between the 'lovers,' "Is not working! You're going to be forward? Well, then I'm going to back out of this relationship. I'm done, Spot. Thank you for your hospitality. Don't expect to be seeing any more of me." Katherine grabbed her stuff, which was still more or less in a box, and marched out of the door in complete and total rage and frustration.

Two relationships ended in two months. Two moves out of two different apartments. Two times she walked out of a door and into heartbreak. Two too much pain. So, she did the one thing she did best.

Ran.

Sure, it hurt. But not as bad as Jack's break off. The relationship had helped her figure something out. Jack was the only one who could make her feel safe, happy, and satisfied.

He was her one true love.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jack and Lila were two peas in a pod. They liked the same music, had the same taste in food, and were practically inseparable. They were like conjoined twins, except they weren't related. Definitely not, unless Jack intended to propose soon. They were a sappy couple. Kissing almost constantly, and were always maintaining physical contact. They were what you would consider the perfect couple.

Jack was okay with his life. Breathtaking girlfriend, apartment to himself, and no sign of Katherine? Yeah, he was doing pretty great.

Lila was on top of the world. Nothing could bring her down. She had finally found the guy who understood her and was with her for longer than a week. Her reasoning was that he must be the one. Bonus points- he was hot. Goodness gracious, he was possibly the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Wavy brown hair, eyes of a color that could never quite be identified, and his body. He had the strongest torso from lugging around papers every day, and painting beautiful artwork. And his past made him even more swoon worthy. Depressing, sweet, genuine, it was all there. He was perfect, or as close to it as possible.

Jack knew Lila was rich. Part of him resented her for it, but he quickly got over it as he got to know her. After much contemplation, he deducted that Lila was a typical rich girl, but had a kind heart. He thought he loved her. Why? Sparks flew in their first kiss. And the one after that. And all their kisses. But not as much as Katherine's kisses. Stop it, he told himself. He would not allow himself to think of her.

"Jackie, do you love me?" Lila asked one night, about two months after they started dating.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I, you silly goose?" This couple was literally the opposite of Spot and Katherine, except for their commonality of good looks.

"Well, it's just that- recently you seem to be distant and not as interested in me anymore. Am I not good enough for you?" Lila was worried. The past week or so, he had been staring off into space more often. She thought it might be her problem, so she spent a lot longer in the bathroom in the morning.

"No! Lila, you're absolutely perfect!" He felt guilty saying that, for some reason, so he leaned down and kissed her to make sure he wasn't going crazy.

The kiss wasn't like the others. No sparks were passed, and w actually felt slightly disgusted when he pulled away. His brain had finally come to terms with something. It had clicked. This wasn't right.

"What's wrong, love? Something bothering you?" Lila touched Jack's nose lightly with the tip of her dainty finger. He flinched underneath the touch.

"Lila, I-I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. It isn't working. I'm sorry." He gently pushed her away.

"You just told me you love me, Jack. What do you mean by 'it isn't working?'" Lila looked hurt, like she knew what was coming.

"My heart belongs to someone else. I'm sorry." Jack started to retreat, repeating "I'm sorry," over and over, as if trying to make his leaving easier. Lila growled softly. She ran up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"You can't break up with me! I won't let you! I- I will make the police arrest you. You can't leave me!" She yelled. Her voice was trembling, though, so the effect was ruined. She buried her face in his shirt and cried.

"Please," she whispered.

"I'm sorry." Were his only words. He tilted her chin up and kisses her one last time, almost throwing up in his mouth. That alone was enough to make him realize she wasn't for him. He figured he owed her that kiss, at the very least, though.

"I have to go," he whispered back at her, eyes boring into her own. With a whisper of wind, he was gone.

He ran down a random alley and made some turns, going nowhere in particular. He kept running for a long time. Eventually, he saw a lone figure carrying a box walking quickly down the street towards him. As the person got closer, he realized it was a woman, and she was crying. Features came into focus, and he nearly fell on his knees and prayed. It was nothing less than a miracle.

"Katherine."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Katherine ran. She had to find Jack and apologize and make everything better. She started walking after only a few minutes, though. Carrying a large box and running was not easy. She strolled along casually, heading in the opposite direction of her old apartment. She tried to turn around to go to the apartment, but her feet wouldn't listen and kept taking random turns. It got later and the sun set, but she just kept walking. It was too late to turn around.

She started walking faster. She could at least try to find somewhere to stay the night. Sell her belongings to be housed for a night. People would be in bed soon, though, so she had to hurry if she was going to find somewhere to stay. Tears of despair started falling. What had she done to deserve this fate?

Suddenly, a man came sprinting around the corner. As he got closer he slowed down. She didn't know who it was, but kept her head down and tears hidden as much as possible. She tried desperately to stop them. The man would pass her soon and he could not see her tears! But, no. The water kept making rivers down her cheeks. She glanced up at the man and saw him moving so slowly his was almost stopped. Then, he did stop. Katherine couldn't see his face, her eyes were too full of tears. She could make out one thing, though.

Her name on his lips. Her tears instantly stopped falling. She looked at him and almost started crying again.

Jack.

It was Jack.

She dropped her box and ran to him. Katherine didn't care what he thought. She needed a hug from Jack. Jack had started running towards her, too, though. They crashed into each other and hugged so tightly that they could hardly breathe. Finally, Katherine pulled back.

"I'm so, so sorry," she breathed. Jack looked at her with no infuriation at all. He looked at her with remorse.

"No, I'm sorry," he said. They both gave watery smiles and hugged again. Katherine was exhausted, though. She had been walking forever and emotions were overloading her brain. She let go of him again and plopped onto the ground. He sat down next to her and they stared at the stars for a few minutes.

"I missed you. Katherine, I- I love you." His voice caught. In that moment, in his state of vulnerability, if Katherine was still miffed, she could literally crush him with her words. Katherine took a deep shuddering breath.

"Jack, I…" she said softly, and tears began to gather in his eyes. He would not be able to live if Katherine didn't love him. He would change himself to fit her description of her dream man. If that wasn't possible, well, that was the end for him. She was his reason for life.

"I love you, too." Jack didn't know what to think. She loved him, too? He put his head in her sweet smelling hair and wrapped his arms around her for the third time. He never wanted to let go. Ever. Katherine put her arms around his neck.

They loved each other. Katherine could hardly comprehend it. He didn't hate her. They could be together again. She pushed her face into his shoulder and smiled. This was her heaven, her paradise, her dream man.

Her love.

Katherine looked up at Jack. Feeling her head move, he looked at her as well. They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Kiss me," she finally whispered. Jack didn't argue, and lowered his head to hers slowly. He captured her lips in his own, and everything was right again. Sparks flew, ones that were way more prominent than the ones he thought had taken flight with Lila.

Katherine melted into his touch. He was her world. Nothing could ever tear them apart again. When they surfaced for breath, they smiled a smile of love at each other.

"I love you," she whispered. She would never tire of saying it.

"I love you," he whispered. He would never tire of saying it. Their lips met again, their trials were forgotten, and their love was always growing stronger.


End file.
